gracile

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*kerḱ-“to become thin; to wane”
2. Latin · borrowed fromgracilis“slender, slim, thin; lean, meagre, scanty; simple, unadorned”
3. Middle French · borrowed fromgracil
4. English todaygracile

Borrowed from Middle French gracil, gracile (“slender, thin”) (modern French gracile (“gracile”)), or directly from its etymon Latin gracilis (“slender, slim, thin; lean, meagre, scanty; simple, unadorned”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kerḱ- (“to become thin; to wane”). The sense “graceful or gracefully slender” was apparently influenced by the non-cognate word grace. The English word is cognate with Italian gracile (“delicate, frail; slender, thin”), Portuguese grácil, Spanish grácil (“graceful; delicate; slender”), and a doublet of gracilis.

Words from the same roots